Progress
by PrincessTiva
Summary: "And I guess that's just why I've been having so much trouble moving forward, Gibbs. She means everything to me." Tony and Gibbs talk about the meaning of the word progress. Tiva. One-shot.


**A/N: Hellooooooo everyone! Happy Sunday! Happy Fanfiction Day! (okay this was entirely made-up but whatever)  
>My lovely friend werealljustwinginit from tumblr inspired me to write this little one-shotdrabble.  
>Summary: <strong>"And I guess that's just why I've been having so much trouble moving forward, Gibbs. She means everything to me." Tony and Gibbs talk about the meaning of the word progress. Tiva. One-shot.  
><strong>Disclaimer: yup, you guessed correctly. I still don't own NCIS or any of its characters.<br>Please enjoy reading! :)  
><strong>

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><p>Tony DiNozzo stared blankly at the glass front of the interrogation room. He was supposed to be watching Gibbs interrogating a suspect. A major suspect. This was important. But he just couldn't seem to focus on anything that was going on on the other side of the glass front. The suspect looked too much like <em>her<em>. Dark hair, down, curly. Her eyes sparkling with mischief – not that he'd been staring so long that he knew. Her posture, everything. Every little damn thing.

A sharp pain on the back of his head pulled him from his thoughts. He spun around and looked into the eyes of none other than his boss. Who had a very unamused expression on his face.

"What do you think you're doing, DiNozzo?" Gibbs barked.

Tony flinched and tried to avoid looking at him. Which of course didn't work. This was Gibbs after all.

"Watching the interrogation, boss," he said, trying desperately to make his voice sound strong.

"Is that so? Then what happened thirty seconds ago?" Gibbs asked.

Tony looked at the interrogation room in panic. What had he missed? Did something happen?

"I, um..," Tony stammered.

"She confessed," Gibbs said and Tony winced.

He hadn't been doing his job and he knew it. The only problem was, that now Gibbs knew too. He'd been so careful to stay guarded this past year. He couldn't let anyone notice what was really going on. So far he'd been quite successful. That was until now.

Gibbs' stare was what finally made Tony talk again: "I must have spaced out for a second there. Won't happen again, boss."

"This is not the first time, DiNozzo," Gibbs retorted.

Tony ducked his head. Okay, so maybe he hadn't been very successful in hiding the storm that was raging inside of him.

"Look, I think we both know what this is about. But you can't let it interfere with your work," Gibbs said, surprising Tony with the calmness in his voice.

"I know, I just..," Tony started but stopped, words failing him.

How was he supposed to say what was going on when he didn't even know it himself. Nothing was clear, not even to him. It was all just a huge mess.

Gibbs leaned with his back against the door of the observation room and crossed his arms over his chest.

"Nobody is in here, Tony, so you might as well talk," he said.

Tony gulped. That move was so Ziva-like. She would always corner him. Always. She had always wanted to know what was really going on and she had never let him off the hook. And now Gibbs was doing pretty much the same. He wasn't going to let him off the hook..at all.

It wasn't that he didn't want to talk to Gibbs. He was probably the only one who would understand after all. But he was just not ready to talk about it. He couldn't possibly put any of it into words.

"I know what happened in Israel, if that's what you're afraid of telling me," Gibbs offered.

Tony's eyes widened and he blushed slightly. Okay, he did not need his boss to say that.

"Um, and h-how exactly would you..?" Tony started but trailed off when he saw Gibbs roll his eyes.

"She called me," Gibbs stated matter-of-factly.

"She...what?" Tony demanded.

She hadn't called _him _after all.

"Right after you boarded the plane in Israel. She wanted to let me know about her decision," Gibbs said, "and she asked me to be patient with you."

Tony rand a hand across his face, trying desperately to calm himself down. This was so messed up. Why couldn't she have just come home with him? Then none of this would have happened. He wouldn't be standing here right now, having to explain to his boss why the hell he couldn't just focus on his job. And she wouldn't have had to ask Gibbs to "be patient with him".

"I've been patient for a long time, DiNozzo. So far I haven't seen any progress," Gibbs stated.

"And by progress you mean..moving forward?" Tony asked.

Gibbs simply nodded, obviously waiting for Tony to say the next thing.

"You say you know what happened in Israel. Well, then you know we pretty much lived like a couple there. We spent day and night together for almost two weeks. We kissed, we," his voice broke, unable to finish the sentence.

"And then she told me she couldn't do it, couldn't come home with me. I just..I spent months trying to find her, and when I finally did, I thought we were on the same page. I mean, it was all so real," he then continued.

"Why did you spend so much time trying to find her?" Gibbs asked.

"Are you kidding right now?" Tony questioned, the words escaping his mouth before he had time to think about them.

"Seriously, have you ever asked yourself that question? It might shed some light on the situation," Gibbs clarified.

Tony bit his lip, then nodded. "I love her."

Silence settled in the small room, the meaning of the words heavy in the air.

"And I guess that's just why I've been having so much trouble moving forward, Gibbs. She means everything to me," Tony suddenly said.

Gibbs nodded as though he had been expecting that exact statement.

"Then maybe moving forward isn't the progress you need," Gibbs said.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Tony asked.

"I heard that sometimes progress starts out in the other direction. Sometimes moving backward is the only way to move forward," Gibbs replied.

Tony opened his mouth to say something but no words came out.

"Think about it," Gibbs said; then without another word he walked out the door.

And as Tony stared after him, the words kept ringing in his ears. _Sometimes progress starts out in the other direction. Sometimes moving backward is the only way to move forward._ He wanted to make progress. It was about time.

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><p><strong>AN: Tadaaaaaaaa, there it is! Please let me know what you think in the reviews section below :) I love to hear your thoughts, and I'm also always open to any prompts you may have for future stories!  
>Love you guysssss,<br>~ C.**


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